Friday, September 17, 2010

Starbucks fail

Starbucks popcorn
I certainly did not have high hopes for Starbucks popcorn. But wow, I can't believe how bad it is.

The butter flavor is butter powder which tastes like old oil. The 1 ounce bag had 8 grams of fat and is 150 calories. For that price I expect ACTUAL butter flavor. Tsk Starbucks. I couldn't even finish it. Yes, me! I know! Popcorn!

Friday, September 10, 2010

Little Lad's not bad

I grabbed a big (they have an even bigger one, too) bag of Little Lad's Herbal Corn at Whole Foods for my train ride this evening. It was the most least caloric and fatty option they sell, so I was sold. The Gouda flavored one sounded divine, but the cheese negates the healthy snack aspect.

The herbs are mystery herbs. But they are pleasant tasting. And there is a good amount of salt, too. One of the 365 brand options was lowfat and low sodium. Dis I say I wanted to avoid bloat? Jeebus. We can't forego everything delicious now.

My only real beef with Little Lad's is the messy factor. My shirt was covered with mystery herbs. And I assure you that I'm a very neat eater.

Would definitely eat again but perhaps not in public.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

A brewpub with popcorn?!


I know, right? Such a logical combination and yet so rarely found. More salt consumed = more beer drunk.

I wouldn't say The Shed in Stowe, VT, had the best popcorn or the best beer, but combining the two makes my enjoyment of both increase exponentially.

The popcorn is a serve yourself deal with the ubiquitous faux wooden restaurant salad bowls. Getting my appetizer myself was a plus since the service was lousy and we waited a while to get the food he was in charge of bringing.

The popcorn was yellow and over-salted.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

News flash!

Okay, okay! I get it. It's not exactly a revelation that movie theater popcorn is bad for you. But it is good to see it spelled out in black and white.

I wish more chains would make healthier, more delicious popcorn like the indie theaters do. I find it really hard to believe that the movie-going public prefers the overly salted, overly buttered, fake yellow stuff to freshly air popped, lightly salted popcorn.

In the name of science, however, I will keep sampling popcorn sold around the globe.

You're welcome.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Happy National Popcorn Day!

I don't have any more to add than that. But I promise I will be back with more scintillating popcorn blog posts in the very near future.

In the meantime, go make some popcorn, preferably on the stove. It's okay to save the microwave stuff for emergencies*, if you must, but in reality, popping it on the stove takes about the same time as popping it in the microwave. Of course, you do have to then wash the pot and take it from me, do not get lazy and leave the pot washing until the next day. Due to the magical properties of vegetable oil, overnight it turns to a stickier, more collant mess than Super Glue. You will need to soak the entire pot in hot water and Oxy powder to get that nastinesss off.

*The only emergency I can think of, in this age of DVRs, is being incredibly tired and just wanting to pass out on the couch with a bowl of popcorn. But the thing is, if your day was that horrible, wouldn't you want a really GOOD bowl of popcorn to snack on? Not some chemicaly yellowy popcorn?

Here is a neat tip that I learned from the back of a bag of popcorn. Instead of pouring all the kernels into the pot as soon as you turn on the heat, put 3 kernels in the pot while it heats and then when one of them pops, add the rest.